An Agnes top for work

I’m not someone who gets to wear nice dress or even a suit to work! I literally rock up in jeans and a t-shirt because I wear scrubs over the top of whatever I wear.

Having a good stock of long and short sleeve tees is so important because these need to be washed ridiculously frequently so having plenty helps reduce how quickly they get all bobbly!

My preference is always for semi fitted short or 3/4 length sleeve jersey tops or t-shirts and since I had the Agnes pattern from Tilly and the Buttons already I figured why not use this as a base to make my own!

I got this awesome pineapple print cotton jersey from Girl Charlee online. It’s also the most money I’ve spent per metre on jersey at £10.45! Luckily I only needed a metre otherwise I’d have probably done without.

The jersey wasn’t as stretchy as I though it would be though so I had to take that into account with some patterns adjustments. I made a size 4 and graded out a size at the hip and thank god I did! I normally wear a size 3-4 with Tilly patterns and I found this came out small. I think that’s mostly due to the fabric I was working with however, so if you’re using a stretchier fabric you’ll probably be fine with your normal size. Just for the record, the jersey I used has 25% stretch. I’d recommend a higher stretch content if possible. Or maybe I just don’t like really fitted jersey tops…

It’s a simple enough pattern to put together, 5 pieces in total. The sleeves are sewn to the bodice pieces before stitching the side seams and it’s always easier doing that than setting them in. The neck binding is a little bit more fiddly. You do need to check how it fits to the neckline. I had to take out an inch to create enough tension here. I finished everything with a twin needle for a nice neat finish. I can’t wait for the day than I treat myself to a cover stitch machine!!

The finished article!

I like it! I think the upper arm area could do with a little more ease to it and I’d adjust that for any future patterns but I’m happy with it! It definitely adds a bit of fun to my day!

As a side note, I just found out I won one of the prizes for the New to Me contest on The Monthly Stitch!! Woohoo! I’m so happy! Thanks to everyone who voted for me!! 🙂

Yep. So you sew the shoulder seam first then attach the sleeve to the open armhole. Then fold the garment so the side seam and sleeve seams meet up (so that it looks like the top would do inside out) and sew the side and sleeve in one line. It works best for jerseys stretch fabrics because there’s no ease in the shoulder. Hope that helps!